(See Bonus #1 below.) If you are not encouraging Twitter in your meeting, you must be
interesting. If the meeting and you are interesting, people won't go to
Twitter on their own, or their IM's and emails on their iPhones and Blackberrys. Set your ground rules for what you want to accomplish, and then accomplish it by relevance, vitality, energy and interest.

9. Drive to action steps.

Meetings should create actions, not informational data dumps. Be intentional.

10. End with a bang, not a whimper.

Most meetings peter out. Not only end with an action step(s), close it off with an upbeat quote, story or video clip. Be creative - and your meetings will be too.

Bonus #1:
Decide whether or not you want to encourage people to Twitter during the meeting or not. (See Speakers - Be Aware Twitter Is Coming) It can be an interesting and engaging tool, or it can be a total disruption. Be intentional. Be smart.

Bonus #2: Get a Flip Video and record your meetings on video or DVD - put one up in the back of the
room to see how you and others interact and behave. Observed behavior
changes.

Bonus #2: Buy and read "Death By Meeting" by Patrick Lencioni,
a great speaker and consultant. There is a plethora of good advice and
concepts in his book that will change the way you run your meetings.

My favorite guest blogger is back, and I don't say that just because she's our Executive VP and my daughter-in-law, but because she is brilliant in developing programs for our clients. If you're not doing so already, follow her on Twitter @kellydecker.

I was first wowed by Cisco's Telepresence- a fantastic virtual meeting solution - when I spent some time in NY coaching a group of Cisco's leaders in 2007. But this week I got to experience it for myself, thanks to Ian Griffin, who set up a demo for local NSAers.

Cisco touts this experience as the next best thing to an in-person meeting. Clearly,
Chambers and team understand that regardless of the technology that shrinks the globe around us, it's the face-to-face, in-person interactions that business continues to yearn for. And, it delivers. The experience is "you" in high-def, which, as our host Rick quipped, has it's downfalls especially for any unwanted complexion issues. There's nothing grainy or choppy about it. And though I hate to admit it (especially in front of my husband), once you go high-def, you just don't go back (so, yes, I really do believe in paying extra for HD at home - there, I said it).

The video and audio is seamless - it feels like you're in the same room.

It absolutely saves businesses travel time and money, and the ROI can be quick, depending on your need for travel. For companies who have put a halt on all travel even for salespeople - if you do not provide a way for them to connect in-person, you've just made it that much more difficult to sell in already tough times. There is nothing more effective to communicate to influence than in-person meetings - this provides a great way to do it.

It's accessible to the public - you don't need your own private Telepresence equipment to do this. Public rooms are available from $299 per hour per location. You do the math.

I was in a larger Telepresence suite, communicating with another smaller room. I observed for a while to figure out what was happening with eye communication - because it sure didn't look like people were looking at the person who was talking (even though they were). Knowing how critical eye communication and behavioral skills are to the overall experience, I asked about how they prepare clients behaviorally to use the technology effectively. Imagine my disappointment when the answer was, "there's a brief description in the documentation" and "a printed set of Etiquette Guides in each room." Yikes!

Eye Communication is the #1 behavioral skill - if you don't have it, you lose that connection and involvement with your listener. These might sound like subtle things, but communications is largely unconscious - how will that new client react to you when you appear to be talking to someone else in the room?

There's also a lack of training in how to effectively present when you have an audience in the room with you, and an audience in cyberland virtually appearing at a table across from you. Even the Telepresence host overwhelmingly directed his presentation to the people in his room, only occasionally acknowledging the audience on the other side.

It is solely for seated meetings, so not a great solution for energetic collaboration, brainstorming, or facilitation. You need to stand and change the dynamics in the room to do this really well.

Ultimately, these are good reminders for all in-person communications. The hard part is to bring your communications to a conscious level, where you are always thinking of the total experience.

Design oriented. Because of this Garr is visual. Almost always he has video demonstrations of his points - a great tool. And he explains in graphic terms.

Personal. You know his perspective and personality. He writes with a direct and personal style. It is interesting. He gives his opinion but doesn't espouse causes that get in the way of his message. He keeps his focus on his one cause - good design.

So Presentation Zen is this week's Alltop top hit. Although I think I'm going to exclude him from weekly picks from now on since he would too often be the pick. Just subscribe to his blog and get him regularly.

Yesterday was a lazy Saturday morning, and I was checking my iPhone in bed. There was a Twitter from Nancy Duarte Tweeting that she was speaking at the Apple Store in San Francisco, so I turned to my wife, Dru Scott Decker, and said, "Want to go?" This would be a chance for me to see Nancy, show the power of Twitter (which I'm still experimenting with), and also use my new Flip Video that was still in it's box! And Dru, also a best selling author who loves Nancy's book Slide:ology said "Yes - love to."

Nancy Duarte at Apple Store

So the Flip Video came out - and it works great for a very small (iPod size) video camera of adequate quality that you can immediately edit and put up on YouTube. Here's an example - my first shot.

And Nancy was great - overcoming a lot of background noise and distractions at a busy downtown Apple Store. Here is Nancy with her first key point, on the importance of Telling Great Stories.

She had terrific slides of course, but even moreso was her great content (Dru took some notes as I was busy with Flip Video):

Tell Great Stories - she illustrated with visuals that ALSO told the great stories by themselves.

Reach Beyond Projection - a presentation can be slides - projected, but she told also of the many other varieties, from decks (the written) to on the web, to PDA plus devices - where you can interact, collaborate, and view. In other words, the world of presentation is a new world.

Create a Profound Experience - unusual was a chart of visual storytelling that looked for the conflict and resolution. Nancy said to identify those points in a preso where you want people to be conflicted, for conflict generates emotion generates action.

Dru Scott also bought a few more copies of Slide:ology. That deserved an iPhone picture.

The Flip Video was OK, but the quality isn't great when you have poor sound and a screen as background. For a longer and higher quality view of Nancy, you might try this interview.

Other tidbits:

Nancy said to use high quality images - they evoke credibility, and Duarte Design spends over $150,000 a year on images!

Nancy Duarte and Garr Reynolds have changed the process of creating and presenting in less than a year with their influence, blogs, and particularly their wonderful and complimentary books Slide:ology and Presentation Zen. Both books are in the top 100 at Amazon already. Amazing.

Twitter, Tribes (also in the top 100 at Amazon) and Technology are changing the face of communicating. (At least task and relationship communicating - nothing will ever replace 'face to face'...)

The video revolution continues. Flip Video costs $179 and enables anyone to immediately shoot and edit and be able to use videos in their PowerPoints, blog posts, YouTube or devices. And video is the BEST way to capture emotion to influence to action in a very short time.

World’s first Live Holographic Video Feed

Probably pretty expensive, and not for everyone, or every purpose. And yet I would predict this mutual effort from Cisco's very successful 'Telepresence' and the 3d holographics of Musion will make a big difference in corporate meetings and presentations.

Only last year we were talking here about the video revolution changing the way we make and view movies and videos. Here's another dimension that will not only use the 'old' technology of video conferencing to communicate in a new way - but will enable us to capture it and broadcast it in new ways.

I point it out here for a few reasons - first, it is a great example of how to move and inspire people. That alone is enough - take a look and be moved.

But it is also another example of the great power of video today, that we didn't have yesterday.

It was shown on the Wall Street Journal's online website - which is a high quality video site that has many excellent examples of communicators - a few doing it well and most rather badly. We can learn from both. And this site has good narrative and editing - as you can see from Randy's clip.

It was of course in a more complete form on YouTube (you can see the entire speech in several segments there.) No editing, lesser quality.

Just had a great lunch and meeting with Nancy Duarte - who runs Duarte Design with her husband Mark. They are the ones who did the core design of Al Gore's Academy Award winning "An Inconvenient Truth," among other things. (You might think Al Gore made that movie - I think it was the work of Duarte Design.) They have an amazing list of clients. For some more great stuff on the Duartes see Garr Reynolds Presentation Zen.

An interview is coming up next month, but one of the most interesting of many things that we discussed was Nancy's (and Mark's) view of 'Presentation.' Naturally they have a visual (they visualize everything!) and it's the traditional image of the three legged stool. But the legs are different, unique and refreshing.

So What's a Presentation?A 'presentation' is made up of three legs:

Messaging

Visual Story

Delivery

MessagingDoes the content play to the audience? Meet needs? Tell a story without the facts and figures of a data dump...

Visual StoryThis is where impact lives, and where Duarte Design thrives in their work. The visual is NOT just PowerPoint or Keynotes - those are just tools. The visual is created, made up of pictures and videos and - images that make the message come alive. (I particularly loved their emphasis on the use of video in communicating - making a story come alive in presentation is part of the video revolution.)

DeliveryNow I thought that this would be behavior and personal impact (where Decker thrives in their work by the way.) But no, that is only a part of it according to Nancy. The delivery component can be

in person to a large audience or one-on-one, or

web based, or

device based

Duarte separates them conceptually. That delivery component is interesting - look at the difference in a presentation made in person to a thousand people or one-on-one, or with no person but a voice and visuals in a webinar, or on a telephone conference call with nothing to see. Or through a movie, or iPhone, or.......

Gets you thinking. But for the details you'll have to wait for Nancy's book that contains her concepts on the three legs of the stool, and much more. It's in the final stages right now, and I can't wait to get my hands on it...

This from the campaign of Barack Obama (I subscribe to many sites from BOTH sides and try to be somewhat unbiased on my blog.) He has used the internet brilliantly, and along with Hillary Obama is the leader in the use of video. (Although Hillary's "Soprano's" effort perhaps put her into the lead with video.)

But this is the first time I've seen the 'casual' and informal video documentary style used in a massive way - very effective in showing Obama in a different way. Could never do that with paid media, and it communicates well.

You can easily download videos from YouTube and Google and use them in your PowerPoints. You can go to other video sites too, although the millions of videos available on YouTube should be enough to enliven your presentations.

At a conference in Dallas this weekend, I had some unique opportunities –

To be inspired by two of the best from my list of "The Top Ten Communicators of 2006" - and speaking from the same platform. Rick Warren and Israel Gaither were great, but more on them in another post after I get the videos to show.

Then there was the rare chance to experience several workshops from pretty good presenters (except for a couple who read their presentations – can you believe that in a workshop setting no less.)

Of the many workshops, there was only one that used black slides in their PowerPoints and had several videos embedded (mine) - and too few that used good PowerPoints or support materials at all. In the two I saw where video was used, there was the awkward and unfortunately common delay of going to the video player either on the same computer or with a separate DVD player.

It doesn’t have to be that way.

First of all, video is a great additive – an easy way to change the pace and get music, emotion, action and drama to enhance your message. And it is very simple to embed your video in your PowerPoints so that you just have to click the clicker for next slide and it plays automatically. I was surprised when one very good presenter who switched to his Windows Media Player to play his video did not know this basic process.

Embedding video in your PowerPoints (or PPs)

Briefly put (if you need more, email me):

Be sure the video you want to use is on your hard drive (and ideally a compressed version in a .wma format for PCs)

In PP make a black slide (no template, black background), and then from the menu click Insert, Movies and Sound, Movie from File and click on the desired video file.

When the frame of the file shows up in PP click the “Automatically” when it asks how you want the movie to start.

Resize the frame to fill 90% of your screen.

That’s all there is to it. Be sure you have a speaker for your laptop, or hook into the room sound system. I always put a black slide before and after my videos to give me talk time, but that’s not necessary for those that don’t use black slides. (Though if you don't, why not?)

With the video revolution going on, you can obtain good videos to support your messages from many different sources, including your own camera. On another post I’ll tell you how to easily download and edit videos from YouTube – one of the best sources. But no matter where you get videos, you will be a much better and more skillful communicator if you USE videos and embed them to play them seamlessly in your PPs.

Here's a couple of links with more detail than you maybe want or need, but could be useful: deskshare and indezine.